TIVERTON — Long lives and low interest rates could raise the cost of dying in town.

The Pocasset Hill Cemetery is spending money faster than it is making it. Because of that, the Cemetery Commission might have to raise the price of a cemetery plot, officials say.

The commission filed its annual financial report with the Town Council, one that showed the commission spent $24,562 in the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2013. The income for the cemetery was $21,025, resulting in a deficit of $2,584.

"In the near future, we will have to raise the price of the cemetery plots," said Anne Turcotte, chair of the cemetery commission. "We can't afford to run a deficit for too long."

The cemetery, on Main Road next to Grinnell Avenue, is owned by the town and operated by the Cemetery Commission. Town residents can buy a single burial plot for $400 or a plot for cremation remains that holds two containers. It also costs $450 to open and close a grave — $550 in the winter — or $200 to open a cremation grave.

"If we sell a lot for $400, $176 goes into our maintenance account and $224 into perpetual care," Turcotte said.

The perpetual care account has $400,787 in it. The commission can't touch that money, but it can use the interest from it to help pay maintenance expenses.

That is a problem when certificates of deposit are paying about 1 percent and government bonds are paying about 2 percent.

"The interest they are getting on their principal isn't high enough to cover expenses," said Councilor Joan Chabot, the council's liaison with the Cemetery Commission. "They haven't raised the price for their plots for several years. I want to make sure my fellow council know that it might happen.

"The commission doesn't want to raise the rates, but they are running a deficit, so it has to be watched."

The Pocasset Hill Cemetery last raised its price for a cemetery plot two years ago, Turcotte said. Since then, business has slowed. The cemetery oversaw 35 casket burials and 12 for cremation remains. It sold 22 burial plots and four cremation plots, the records show.

Veterans are buried for free.

"Normally, burial plots are $1,000 or more," Turcotte said. "We are still less than most."

The commission did not hold its February meeting. It will discuss the deficit at its next meeting and decide what to do about it, Turcotte said.

A price increase must be approved by the council.

Anyone who wants to buy a plot should call the town clerk at 401-625-6703.